Runzas

 

Runzas

Serves: 6-8       Prep Time: 1 hour

Several years ago over Christmas my Aunt Becky visited us, and we tried to recreate a dish that her mom, my grandma, used to make. Nana called this dish a "runza."  It's a pastry filled with ground beef, cabbage, onions, and some seasonings. It's become a tradition in our house that I make this dish during the week that follows Christmas and New Years. It's a little more time consuming to make, but makes plenty of runzas to enjoy for several days, or they freeze very well. It's kind of like an upscale hot pocket. :)

Ingredients: 

2 boxes of Pillsbury Hot Rolls Mix, prepared as directed 

1lb lean ground beef

1/4 cabbage, shredded finely

1 white onion, diced

1 clove minced garlic 

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 

1 tsp dijon mustard 

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. Prepare your boxes of Pillsbury Hot Rolls Mix as directed according to the package, but leave rising in a bowl. Set aside to rise. 

2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown your ground beef. When meat is almost brown, mix in shredded cabbage and diced white onion. Cook together until cabbage is starting to get tender and onions are almost translucent. 

3. Mix in minced garlic and cook until fragrant. Next stir in Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, and salt/pepper to taste. Take mixture off of heat and set aside. 

4. Take your hot roll mixture that has been rising and divide dough in half. Each half of dough should be divided into 8 pieces, yielding about 16 Runzas in all. 

5. Roll out each piece of dough into an oval. Place 2-3 spoonfuls of the filling on one side of the dough, then fold the dough in half, kind of like a turnover. 

6. Pinch the seams along the edge together and gently place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Poke 2-3 holes on the top of each Runza using a fork. 

7. Finish assembling all Runzas, and bake at 350 until golden brown. I like to brush some melted butter on the top about halfway through baking. 

8. You can serve immediately and enjoy, or freeze the leftovers. I've found the best way to freeze these is to wrap each cooled Runza in foil, and then place in a freezer bag. When ready to eat, just remove foil and re-heat. 

Yummy little savory pastries. What could be better on a cold, winters night?